A picture frame is a housing or structure for a picture, such as a painting or photograph, intended to enhance it, make it easier to display, and/or protect it. Varieties of picture frame structures are in use today or have been suggested for use. Picture frames can come in any number of different shapes and can be formed from any number of different materials. The most common shape of a frame is a rectangle; however, frames can come in other shapes, such as square or oval, etc.
For pieces to be framed under glass, except for the most disposable and inexpensive posters or temporary displays, the glass must be raised off the surface of the paper. This is done by means of matting, a lining of plastic “spacers”, shadowboxing, stacking two mouldings with the glass in between, and various other methods. If the paper (or other media) were to touch the glass directly, any condensation inside the glass would absorb directly into the art, having no room to evaporate. This is harmful to almost any medium. It causes art sticking to the glass, mildew, and other ill effects. Raising the glass is also necessary when a piece is done in a loose media such as charcoal or pastel, to prevent smudging. Care should be taken with these works, however, if Plexiglas is used as a static charge can build up which will attract the pigment particles off the paper. Using real glass helps to prevent this. Certain kinds of pieces do not usually need glass when framed, including paintings done in acrylic or oil paint (the former is usually waterproof; the latter actually needs to “breathe” due to the decades-long drying process), tiles, etc.
One other type of art structure or frame construction is a shadowbox which is a framed box, usually square or rectangular in shape, with a glass front that it is used for displaying and protecting valued items. Often, a shadowbox looks similar to a framed picture or painting, but rather than simply displaying a picture behind glass, a shadowbox is a shallow box full of treasured or important items. Typically, the shadowbox is defined by a square-shaped frame formed of upstanding walls that extend outwardly from a rear wall (floor). A shadowbox can display two or three dimensional objects.
There is a need to provide a frame or moulding construction that provides a shadowbox like appearance while not in fact having a traditional shadowbox construction.